EX. ORD. NO. 12812. DECLASSIFICATION AND RELEASE OF MATERIALS
PERTAINING TO PRISONERS OF WAR AND MISSING IN ACTION

July 22, 1992

WHEREAS, the Senate, by S. Res. 324 of July 2, 1992, has asked
that I ''expeditiously issue an Executive order requiring all
executive branch departments and agencies to declassify and
publicly release without compromising United States national
security all documents, files, and other materials pertaining to
POWs and MIAs;'' and

WHEREAS, indiscriminate release of classified material could
jeopardize continuing United States Government efforts to achieve
the fullest possible accounting of Vietnam-era POWs and MIAs; and

WHEREAS, I have concluded that the public interest would be
served by the declassification and public release of materials
pertaining to Vietnam-era POWs and MIAs as provided below;

NOW, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby
order as follows:

Section 1. All executive departments and agencies shall
expeditiously review all documents, files, and other materials
pertaining to American POWs and MIAs lost in Southeast Asia for the
purposes of declassification in accordance with the standards and
procedures of Executive Order No. 12356.

Sec. 2. All executive departments and agencies shall make
publicly available documents, files, and other materials
declassified pursuant to section 1, except for those the disclosure
of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy of returnees, family members of POWs and MIAs, or
other persons, or would impair the deliberative processes of the
executive branch.

Sec. 3. This order is not intended to create any right or
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against
the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers
or employees, or any other person.